The Bus-Capades
by HumanEmotion
Summary: The 'escapades' of trying to catch a bus. You'd think Jamie would learn as he aged. Story better than the summary.


**THE BUS-CAPADES**

 **A/N: Okay... sooo... yes, it has been a long time lol. A _very_ long time. Life has had it's ups and downs; thankfully it's an up-moment at this time. I've had some ideas but they never really came to be. I just didn't have much interest in writing, but that is starting to change again.**

 **Anyway, this story started as Day 2 of a writing challenge I took part in - it started as a first person story based on a writing prompt. Once I had it drafted, I thought that it might be funny if I edited it into the story you see here, though the 'funny' part remains to be seen lol.**

 **If you enjoyed it, give it a "like" by leaving a review. Or if you just want to give your opinions, leave a review lol. ;)**

 **Enjoy! :)**

***BB***

Jamie could hear feet padding across the bedroom floor. He cracked open his eyes, peering into the dark. It was the middle of winter, it was cold, and the sun wasn't up yet. No _way_ was he getting up. No way, no how!

"Jamie," a voice murmured. His mother. "Time to get up, it's seven o'clock, you have to get ready for school."

Jamie groaned. "It's still dark."

"Yes, Jamie," she replied, a note of exasperation in her voice. "It's winter. It doesn't matter, though, because you still have to get up."

He covered his face with the blankets, whining a little. She pulled them back off.

"Mo-om!"

"Up, Jamie! Now!" Her footsteps headed out the door.

Jamie listened carefully, waiting for her footsteps to fade away. A couple more minutes couldn't hurt, could they? He snuggled back down under his blankets.

"Jamie."

"Go 'way…"

"Jamie, it's seven thirty-five, you have to get up. Mom's getting angry."

Jamie stretched, yawning. "Alright, Danny, I'll get up."

"Good. I'm catching a ride with Joe. He'll drop me off before he goes to work."

"Okay," Jamie replied, still sleepy. He listened to Danny leave, stretching again. Why did it have to be so early?

"JAMIE! It's ten after eight, your bus arrives in ten minutes! Get your butt down here!"

He sat straight up in bed, startled, and glanced at the clock beside his bed. Panic blossomed in his chest as he realized that he must have fallen asleep again. Grateful that he showered the night before, he threw on his clothes and raced downstairs. His mother gave him a withering stare while Erin grinned at him from her place at the table where she was finishing up bacon and eggs. Jamie looked longingly at her plate.

"No time for that, Jamie," Mary grumbled. "You're going to have to run to the bus stop."

"Again," Erin snickered.

"Shut up, Erin," he snapped at her. "Can't you drive me, Mom?"

"Be nice, Jamie!" Mary retorted. "And no, I can't, Erin has a Student Council meeting in half an hour, then I have to get to work. There's no time. Grab a piece of toast and get going! You're eight years old, for goodness sake, you need to start taking some responsibility!"

Jamie stuffed his feet into his shoes, pulled on his coat and, with a hurried wave, ran out the door with a piece of toast dangling from his mouth.

He made it just as the door was closing. The driver opened it, giving Jamie an exasperated look.

"Again?" she asked him, shaking her head.

He grinned sheepishly and quickly found a seat.

***BB***

"Jamie, what are you doing?"

He sighed. "Reading, Mom. I have to get a couple more chapters read before class today."

"Jamie, the bus will be here in less than fifteen minutes. You're dawdling, and you're going to miss it. I'm not driving you. You're sixteen, you should be able to figure this stuff out by now!"

He felt the familiar sense of panic. "Okay, I'm going," he replied, stuffing his feet into his shoes. He grabbed his backpack and took off.

The bus was already starting to move when he got there, waving his arms. It stopped. The door opened. The look the driver was shooting him was not exactly friendly.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Got distracted."

The driver sighed. Shaking her head, she closed the door.

***BB***

'Why?' he thought to himself. 'Why, why, _why_?"

He was running again. He could see the bus in the distance. There were quite a few people left to board, which gave him hope that he might get there before it drove away.

"Why did I have to pick an apartment so far away from campus?" he muttered to himself. He was in his second year of college, and somehow still hadn't figured it out.

Huffing, he ran up just as the last person was stepping onto the first step. The guy gave Jamie a look, looking half-amused at his reddened face and lack of air.

"Maybe you should leave earlier," he offered helpfully. "I see you nearly every morning, you always just make it here."

Jamie merely sighed in response.

***BB***

Jamie glanced at the clock as he started his breakfast. It was ten after eight. He had training at ten, so there was plenty of time.

His cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller, he frowned.

"Hello?"

"Jamie, we've got training at nine today," said Brody, his training partner.

"I thought it was at ten, Brody." Jamie replied, starting to feel anxious.

"No, it was moved to nine."

"When was it moved?"

"Yesterday evening. I saw the notice as I was leaving."

"Why didn't you call me _then_?" Jamie barked out, a little more harshly than intended.

"I was busy," Brody replied. Jamie could practically see the shoulder shrug that went with it. "I forgot about it."

"Brody…" Jamie growled. "Fine. I may be a bit late, though, thanks to you."

"How or when you get here is not my problem. I told you about it, now it's up to you." Brody replied, the arrogance clear in his voice. He and Jamie may have been training partners, but they weren't exactly friends.

Jamie hung up, annoyed and glanced at the clock again. He had forty-five minutes. Hand shaking, he punched in another number.

"Hello?"

"Danny, it's Jamie. You're off today, right? Do you think you'd have time to pick me up? My training was moved to nine. My training partner phoned me just now."

"When did he find out?" Danny asked, a smirk in his voice. He knew Brody, too, as he had to deal with him a few times. They weren't friends, either.

"Yesterday, and he decided to call me less than an hour beforehand."

"Sorry, kid. I don't have time today. You need a car."

"I can't afford a car right now, Danny," Jamie sighed. "Look, I need to go. I'll have to catch the bus. IF there's a bus…"

Danny sniggered. "Good luck, Jamie."

Jamie hung up, putting his still-full plate on the counter. He quickly dumped the contents into a container and stuck it into the fridge. Grateful that he was ready to leave, he stuffed his feet into his shoes, grabbed his apartment keys and jacket, and hurried out of his apartment. He started running to the bus stop. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd manage to catch the All-Day Express that stopped right outside the Academy…

***BB***

Jamie let himself into the house. The smell of food hit him as soon as he opened the door.

"You're late, kid," Danny stated. "We're just about to sit down to eat."

"Yeah, well… had to catch the bus," Jamie grumbled.

"Car still in the shop?"

"Yeah, it's going to take a couple of days."

"I could have picked you up, Jamie," Erin said, giving him a look.

"No, you couldn't have. You said so yourself," Jamie grumbled, giving her a look right back.

"That was earlier when you phoned," Erin replied. "Plans changed since then."

"And you didn't call me to let me know because…" he trailed off, looking at her pointedly, hearing laughter as he sat down at the table.

Erin looked sheepish. "I forgot?"

Jamie glowered at her. She smiled in response.

"Perhaps you should leave earlier to catch the bus," she said sweetly.

"The only bus left was the one that takes forever to get to this side of the city," Jamie grumbled, feeling annoyed.

"Some things never change," Danny said, laughing.

Jamie shook his head, smiling slightly. He'd never liked the bus anyway.

-End-


End file.
